The Frick Art & Historical Collection

2014
Schwartz Silver Architects
Pittsburgh, PA

3,000 GSF

Museums & Galleries

2015
IES National, Illumination Award of Merit

The Frick Art and Historical Center is located on the former estate of Henry Clay Frick’s family home, encompassing an entire city block. The new Orientation Center acts as a central gathering hub and accommodates a multipurpose program that includes areas for functions, learning, ticketing and a museum gift shop.

The design integrates lighting within the architecture, minimizing visible fixtures. The slatted cherry ceiling is uplit to enhance materiality and provide a general glow within the space, creating a lantern effect. The museum shop has additional light for merchandise and integrated lighting in the display cases while in the learning lounge, table and floor lamps provide task lighting for reading and small gatherings. Throughout, low wattage light sources in warm color temperatures create a welcoming atmosphere and provide contrast to the cooler daylighting.

On the exterior, site walls are lit from below to accentuate the path, at the same time uplighting the canopy to create a glare-free nighttime view.